Central to Innovation for Agriculture’s establishment and development is the charitable fundraising campaign. Support in the very earliest stages from individuals and from the Elizabeth Creak Foundation and the Garfield Weston Foundation laid a platform on which the initiative has been built. The current technical centres have started with support from these and other donors, including the Linbury Trust (supporting work on soils) and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (antibiotic resistance). The aim is that each technical centre should, over a period, become self-sustaining and able to make a contribution to Innovation for Agriculture’s core costs.
The success of the fundraising campaign comes through the commitment of people across the country who, inspired by the passion expressed by our Chairman and Chief Executive, have been willing to open their contact books and chequebooks. Raising well over £1 million in charitable support from a standing start for a charity operating in a largely unexplored field is testament to the value placed on Innovation for Agriculture by farmers and by the wider community.